2006 Hurricane Season Off To Horrifying Start

Tropical Storm Alberto's forecasted fate from last week through this morning assured that hurricane status wasn't in the meteorological cards.
This was the call until at least 9 a.m. today. After stepping away from my desk for a couple of hours, I returned to find Alberto cranked up to 70 mph winds and hurricane warnings posted for Florida. Despite predictions to the contrary, Alberto gained 20 mph worth of intensity in a matter of hours and is expected to hit Florida tomorrow with Category 1 hurricane strength.
To Floridians, I suppose, this is just a sneeze, although botched forecasts with this storm, as was the case with 2004's Charley, a Category 4, likely have created unease and distrust among residents there.
Equally alarming is the fact that Alberto appears headed for just south of where Tropical Storm Arlene kicked off the record-setting 2005 hurricane season, the worst ever. Arlene was just under hurricane force when she sauntered ashore June 11 in the Florida Panhandle.
So compared to Arlene, which did little damage, Alberto is:
* likely to be a stronger storm - probably a hurricane - when it comes ashore.
* predicted to hit Florida a few hundred miles south of where Arlene hit.
* striking June 13 as opposed to June 11.
I'm not ready to put on my tinfoil hat just yet, but I don't think Alberto being stronger and coming around at the same time and roughly the same place as last year's Arlene is positive foreshadowing for the 2006 hurricane season.